Musings on food and life from Beth Bader, the co-author of The Cleaner Plate Club. Ingredients: original recipes, food policy insights, parenting fun, and a dash of humor.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Why We Should All Go Hug A Family Farmer

Over at Eat Local Challenge, I posted on the issues that concern farm policy and our food supply. One of the key points in that discussion is that the farmer only gets about NINETEEN cents of every food dollar when participating in conventional food supply (food goes to processor, processed food goes to retailer, consumer purchases at the store).

While this dynamic is offset simply by scale and large subsidy for the industrial farms, the impact on the family farmer is devastating. Earl Butz' policy of "Get Big Or Get Out" is definitely working to oust the family farmer.

If that is not enough, consider some of the tactics that are used on family farmers by the food processing giants. Blog for Rural America presents an examination of what happens to the farmers who actually raise the chickens in the closed loop of large-scale poultry operations. It is not pretty. The company owns the chicks and feed inputs, dictates the farmers' operations by contract, then controls the pricing at the end of the loop. When the company changes its demands, the farmers are on the hook for the debt — and some are losing their homes. (Thanks, Ethicurean). This type of business practice is not limited to the poultry industry either. Ultimately, the farmer is the one being squeezed and often from both sides.

Two of the family farmers that I purchase produce and meats from have second jobs to support their families and to be able to afford to continue farming. Farming is hard work and time-intensive during season for crops and year-round for livestock. There is something inherently wrong about these individuals having to work two jobs in order to "afford" to grow healthy food.

Additionally, because these farmers grow non-commodity crops like vegetables and fruits, they are not eligible for subsidy payments. Meanwhile some of the large-scale farmers with incomes in six figures are eligible for subsidy payments — that enable them to buy more land and grow in scale. It's a frustrating and unfair system that hurts the small family farms most.

Here is what you can do:

Buy meats, eggs, produce direct from your family farmers. This way, the farmer gets 100 percent of your food dollar. You can purchase direct from farmers in several ways:

Buy from farmers who sell their own local produce and meats at the farmers market near you. You can find the nearest market using the search on Local Harvest.

Go to the farmer direct. You can contact farmers to purchase meats, eggs and produce direct from the farm, bypassing the expense and time commitment doing sales at a farmers market. Sustainable Table has a search tool that will help you find a farmer by the product you are looking for.

4 comments:

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“Besides Nigella Lawson’s “How to Be a Domestic Goddess,” I can’t think of another cookbook that causes me to laugh out loud. From page one, I felt like I was sitting at my table with old friends. This isn’t just a cookbook: it’s an educational arsenal to wield your way with grace and dexterity through the carnival that is the modern American food system…Without increasing my weekly budget, I increased our vegetable consumption at our evening meals by two vegetable dishes a night. It was no longer a battle of eat your veggies,’ but a question of ‘which vegetable would you like to eat tonight?’”

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The Cleaner Plate Club offers simple solutions, recipes, meal suggestions, and tips to help parents get kids to eat good food and -- guess what? -- enjoy it. With humor and compassion, the authors show readers how to prepare real foods, plan ahead and estimate prep time, and get used to cooking food that doesn't come with printed directions. Their fresh advice will help parents eliminate food waste, plan for leftovers, present foods that are appealing to kids, and quit fighting with their children about food. The Cleaner Plate Club offers kid-tested recipes for every meal, basic vegetable preparations for farmers' market finds, and more healthful recipes for sweets and snacks. Readers will also find shopping strategies, the reasons kids like the foods they do, and vegetable profiles (including nutrition information and tips on selection, storage, and preparation). Expert advice and innovative ideas about feeding kids make this book a must-have for any parent. Fresh, funny, and nonjudgmental, The Cleaner Plate Club is a recipe for healthier kids and happier parents.